Man Denied Liver Transplant Due to Past Medical Cannabis Use

According to his family, Rolando Rosa was denied a liver transplant after the hospital found cannabis in his bloodstream.

Rosa, for whom the liver transplant is a necessary lifesaving procedure, uses MMJ as an alternative to opioids.

His family is trying to crowdfund money after being told by the liver coordinator at the Methodist Dallas Medical Hospital Liver Institute that Rolando was being denied a liver transplant due to the CBD and THC found in his bloodstream.

Now that Rolando’s family is pursuing the matter through advocacy groups and the media, they say the hospital coordinator switched the story and is claiming that Rosa was denied the transplant because of “non-compliance/non-disclosure” for reasons not related to cannabis.

According to Rosa’s family, Rolando was already on his way to receiving the liver transplant but the planned surgery changed abruptly after the results came in that showed the presence of CBD/THC in his bloodstream.

“It’s a hard pill to swallow because we were so close to having everything done,” said Rosa’s daughter, Monica Garcia in an interview with ministryofhemp.com, where this story first appeared.

In addition to using CBD/THC medications to alleviate pain, said Garcia, opioid medications were “inducing his hepatic encephalopathy,” which is a condition that can affect those with liver disease and can lead to a loss of brain function.

The issue of medical cannabis users being denied potentially life-saving organ transplants has largely been overlooked during the legalization process in many states.

In some states, such as California, laws have been passed that make it illegal for medical providers to discriminate against compliant, licensed medical cannabis users seeking an organ transplant.

But even then, despite these laws being in place, health care providers have occasionally refused organ transplants anyhow.

The funds being raised by the Rosa family will help them pay the necessary medical and travel expenses associated with seeking out a hospital that will perform a liver transplant.